The Photograph 2 Latent Image
by Jarel Kortan
Summary: Three years have passed from the events of the first story and something is on the horizon that threatens the future of our young couple.
1. Like Old times

Well I'm finally back with the beginning of the second chapter in the photograph story. It is 3 years after the events of the first story and while things seem to be going good for our young family. Something lingers on the horizon to threaten the peace and Arnold and Helga will face a new danger.

**The Photograph: **

**Latent Image**

Chapter 1

Sunset Arms boarding house was busy with activity as the warm June day was heating up as mid day approached. "Arnold" someone cried out from somewhere in the house. "Arnold" Someone cries out again seeming the only thing that can be heard emanating from the boarding home. "Hey Arnold" Is yelled out again this time stretching out the name to make sure it is heard and even catching the attention of someone walking by outside gives a glance at the home as if it was calling to him but shrugs it off and walks on. Finally Arnold came walking down the hall from his and Helga's room to only see the person who had been calling him this entire time. "Hey football head" she said playfully as he smiled, as the name was once used to insult him has now become Helga's pet name for him like others used the words honey and cupcake. "Yes Helga?" he said as he greeted her with his usual morning kiss which caused her mellow out a few degrees. '_He always has that effect on me, his slightest touch always calms me down; I can't imagine how my life would be without him'_ She thought for a moment before she snapped out of it and addressed him "Oh yeah, well are you all packed for the trip?" she asked as Arnold nodded in acknowledgement "Yes and I got stuff packed for Philip too" Helga nodded back and spoke up "Ok that's good, we are almost all ready to go, just a few more things, remember Arnold we have to be there at the right time" "Yes Helga" he said in response as he headed downstairs to grab a snack from the fridge.

The moment he set foot off the last step of stairs he could hear someone talking in the living room and he recognized the voice right away. It was a voice he grew up with all this life, his eccentric grandfather. He couldn't help but remember numerous times that he would come down those same stairs as a child to be greeted by his grandpa and be told a story of some sort. Wither the story was true was always hard to tell with him, cause of all the crazy things he would add into his stories which always made Arnold smile. And now his grandpa had someone else to tell stories too. He walked up to the doorway to see his grandpa telling his three year old great-grandson crazy stories about Arnold growing up. Young Philip was listening with rapt attention as if it was the greatest story in the world. "What happened next grandpa?" Asked young Philip, Arnold's grandfather had opted to be called grandpa to make it easier on young Philip. "Well just then Arnold was neck and neck with the Russell, his mule galloping as fast as he can to pass him up, but Russell wasn't having any of that. We were in the crowd cheering him on yelling with all our might then both of them were right next to each other then suddenly Arnold snapped the bridle fast sending Glue Boy racing off way past the competition leaving them all in the dust, boy you never see a mule ride so fast he broke the sound barrier making a loud boom sound nearly knocked our socks off."

Just then he was cut off by a small set of claps from Arnold. "You tell a good story grandpa" His grandpa smiled as he had young Philip in his lap and patted his back urge him to go to his father as Arnold let his arms out and picked up his son and hugged him. "Hey buddy" He said greeting his son and his son spoke up "Good morning daddy" young Philip's face was full of joy and still excited from the story he was just told. Arnold's grandpa has been telling Philip stories for some time now and Philip loved hearing tales of his father's adventures and of course Grandpa Phil always added his twist endings to all his stories which always managed to draw his great grandson so much into the story. "So you all ready for our trip Philip?" Asked Arnold to which his son just nodded happily feeling eager to get there. "That's good, now why don't you go see your mother and she how she's doing" he said putting down his son and he walked off upstairs to see his mother.

Arnold walked into the living room and can see his grandpa still sitting there smiling at him. "He's just like you when you were that age shortman." Arnold smiled as he watched his son go upstairs then was interrupted when his grandpa ruffled his hair for old time sake "Grandpa" he said a little annoyed. "Sorry shortman I couldn't resist so how long are you, Helga and Philip going to be down in ole California?" Arnold sat down next to his grandpa "We're gonna be there for five days staying at a hotel right near the shoreline in Ocean Shores. We will meet up with our friends there and go from there. " His grandpa then spoke up "That's a good plan Arnold, so you going to learn to surf and everything shortman?" he asked and Arnold chuckled a little "Yeah I think so grandpa not sure how well it will go, but I like to give it a try"

Grandpa then stood up off the sofa and started to walk off "Well that's good shortman don't trip off the surfboard, and don't eat raspberries." He said as he walked off to which Arnold just smiled to himself at his grandfathers advice. He soon found himself lost in thought thinking about the flight ahead and remembered it was a flight that was part of the start of it all and now this time he was looking forward to Helga falling asleep by his side though now if Philip will allow he thought hoping that maybe they prepared properly for this and if all goes well, then their son won't be running down the aisles driving everyone nuts. He walked to the window looking out at the street and whispered low to himself "California here we come"

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><p>So Grandpa is loving having another young one around the house, brings back memories for him as he raised Arnold.<p>

Please review if you like how this story is going so far.

Also like before in my last story I want your opinion, with an upcoming chapter we will see the gang from Rocket Power and I want to know what you all prefer for potential pairings from Rocket Power.

Until next time, Jarel Kortan singing out.


	2. California here we come

And now the next chapter in the story Latent Image, hope you enjoy.

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><p><strong>The Photograph: Latent Image<strong>

Chapter 2

A couple hours later the young family was at Hillwood Airport and filled with life from all over. Philip was amazed by all the people walking about, even spotting several kids his age and a couple times almost got away from his mother Helga which had to chase him down in the air port. Young Philip certainly had a lot of energy to spend and for both Helga and Arnold, their younger years were behind them and didn't have that kind of energy anymore but still managed to keep up mostly with their only son. Eventually they made it on to the plane it was late in the evening as the plane took off from the tarmac. Phillip, Arnold and Helga had managed to get a window seat just ahead of the wing while they let Phillip get the window so he could see all the scenery while Arnold and Helga could enjoy each other when they could.

An hour into the flight Philip had fallen asleep and Arnold placed his blankie on him which was a very heart warming sight to the young couple and as Arnold finished tending to his son he felt Helga give him a light peck on the cheek and turned to see her smile. "You're quite the father Arnold, I think you will do well, a lot better then mine" Arnold smiled at her "And you're a lot better at being a mother then you thought you were." Helga just blushed lightly and smiled, even 3 years later after everything they've been through it was still sometimes unreal that only 4 years ago she was worrying about making the finals at high school and now has to worry about her new son. There was a moment of silence before Helga spoke up softly to not wake up Philip. "you know only a few years ago we only had to worry about homework and now we got a little one running around making us tired, when we get to California we should have one of friends take care of him so we can have some us time" "Arnold grinned knowing exactly what she meant, it had been awhile since they managed to get some real quality time together and Arnold was not dept lead in his job and was working harder then before making sure shipments were received on time and everything went smoothly. Arnold kissed her softly on the lips "That sounds good, I'm sure Angelica would love a chance to babysit Philip"

This raised a thought in Helga's mind "Hey aren't Chuckie and Angelica expecting a little one themselves soon?" Arnold nodded "yeah last I spoke to Chuckie he says she is about 3 months in, perhaps you can give her a few pointers too" Helga laughed lightly "Yeah I can do that." She said then she started to become tired herself and leaned her head on Arnold's shoulder and started to nod off. Arnold just rapped his arm around her and cuddled up to her enjoying her warmth and feel against him. He then had a flashback to that faithful flight years ago when they were on their way to California the first time and he realized something different about Helga that day, that would could actually like her maybe even love her. And how Gerald pestered him about how he was going crazy by thinking such thoughts about the girl that bullied him for years. Arnold just smiled to himself at how things turned out and at the wedding Gerald took him aside and took back everything he said about Helga though admitted it would take getting used to. As these thoughts ran through his mind he eventually started to nod off himself and fell asleep against Helga.

Some time later Arnold was awoken from being nudged and poked by his son Philip "Daddy, Daddy we're here, Daddy" As his eyes began to open and the haze of sleep began to fade away he rubbed his eyes awake to see this son looking out the window and tugging on his shirt to get his attention. Another announcement came over the intercom stating they were nearing they're destination and Arnold looked out the window with Philip to see the lights of the city lighting up the darkness. Arnold turned to Helga and tried to gently wake her up which took a few moments but eventually her eyes slowly opened and he kissed her gently "We're here Helga" She smiled at him as he came into view "That's good I don't know how much more I can take of sitting in this seat" Arnold directed her to the window and all three of them looked out the window as the plane made its final approach into Ocean Shores airport.

A short time later the plane finally touched down on the runway and came up to the terminal to allow everyone to exit the plane. It took the young family sometime to get things reorganized from the flight and walk out to the terminal. There was a flood of people in the airport and they almost got lost looking for the main entrance and exit which Helga reminded Arnold of that fact a few times as they made they're way and soon saw someone holding a sign reading 'Arnold & Helga Bartlett' Arnold was the first to spot the sign "There we go" he said pointing at the sign and the three of them headed to the person and once the man noticed them he lowered the sign and reached out a hand to welcome them. Arnold could see the man was wearing an Hawaiian shirt and shorts and that he was Hawaiian. "Hey you must be Arnold and Helga" he said happy to see the young couple and then he leaned down to see Philip "And you must be young Philip" Which Arnold's son retreated behind his mother not sure who this person was and the turned his attention to Arnold "Reggie and Otto are sorry they couldn't make it person, but they're busy with some other things so they sent me down here to pick you up and take you to the hotel, My name is Tito Makani, but you can just call me Tito." Arnold shook his hand "Nice to meet you Tito, so what about Chuckie and Angelica have you seen them?" Tito thought for a moment "Ah yeah they are here, already at the hotel" Helga spoke up "Then what are we waiting for, lets get going." The four of them picked up the bags and made their way to Tito's car and head down to the hotel. Arnold and Helga were eager to see their friends that they haven't seen in years and only talked via email or phone on occasion.

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><p>So our young family has made it to Ocean Shores where they will meet up with Chucky and Angelica, stay tuned for the next installment.<p> 


	3. Checking in

Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, I hope you enjoy.

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><p><strong>The Photograph: Latent Image<strong>

Chapter 3

Tito lead the young family to his station wagon with the wood panels on each side of the car. As they piled in, Helga made sure Philip was secured in his child seat before they headed out from the airport. A moment later they were heading down the road as they looked out the windows taking in the sights. "So when did Chuckie and Angelica show up?" asked Helga breaking the silence in the cab, with his attention on the road he just talked as he looked forward. "Oh yeah they showed up around five o'clock. They are waiting for you at the hotel." Arnold and Helga nodded while young Phillip was dozing off in his chair and Helga just brushed his hair lightly as she sat next to him while Arnold was in the front passenger seat next to Tito. It took a while and a couple times Arnold thought some red lights would never end. Soon enough the hotel came into view and it was forty stories tall in a L-shape pattern that he could see from a distance, with the words "Ocean Shores Hotel" in bright blue letters with a symbol of an ocean at the end of the words. A few more stop lights later they ended up at the drop off point and Tito helped them with the luggage till one of the bell hops came with a carrier and placed their things on it and started pulling it toward the check in counter. Arnold waved off Tito as he was headed back to the car. "Well see you tomorrow Tito" said Arnold as he went back to catch up with Helga who was carrying her sleeping son in her arms toward check in.

Arnold was a little lost looking at the décor of the lobby seeing the high classed look of the hotel to the point he felt like he was spending a fortune just standing there. Suddenly he heard his named called from across the lobby and snapped him out of his daze and turned to see the person who called him and he could see Helga with Phillip and the waiting bell hop by the counter and he smiled briefly before he ran a little to catch up with them and finally made it to the counter. "Sorry about that, I got distracted." Helga rolled her eyes and smiled. "Oh football head, always letting your mind wander." Arnold just smiled as the hotel employee looked a little confused but as it was he had to act professional and calmly spoke up. "Do you have reservations?" Arnold nodded as he placed his arms on the counter to keep his balance still feeling tired from the flight. "Yes, its under Bartlett." The man nodded and started typing in the information into the computer and a few entries popped up under Bartlett. "Name?" "Arnold" he found the right entry and clicked it and the rest of the reservation info came up and read off the listing. "Ah there you are. Arnold Bartlett room for 2 and arrangement for a baby crib." He finished saying as he keyed in the check in information. "Ok just let me get your room keys." He walked over and handed one set to Arnold and to Helga "Your room is W805 you can take that corridor the elevators to the 8th floor, the bell hop will show you the way to your room." Arnold nodded and thanked the mad as they got their keys and followed the bell hop to the elevators and got in.

"So Arnold did Chuckie tell you what room they got?" asked Helga as Philip was now fully asleep on her shoulder. "Hold on let me send him a text." He said while he took out his phone and sent the message to Chuckie as the elevator stopped at the 8th floor and the doors opened. "This way" said the bell hop said as he guided them down the hallway to their room. After the endless number of rooms they finally reached their room and the bell hop unlocked it for them and let them in. Helga laid Philip down on the bed and helped Arnold with the luggage and tipped the bell hop as he left them alone in the room. "Well we're finally here" said Arnold with a sigh of relief then his phone beeped and pulled it from his pocket and read the message from Chuckie "_Hi man, we're in room W809"_ Arnold texted back what room they got as he spoke up. "Good their only a couple rooms down in W809." His phone beeped one more time with a message that said they were glad they made it and were turning in for the night and they would see them in the morning. As Arnold thought that was a good idea too and told Helga they would meet up with their friends in the morning, until then they would put their stuff away and get ready for bed.

Soon it was morning and the sun was starting to shine on the hotel giving the hotel guests on that side of the hotel a wake up call, but it didn't take the sun light to wake up Arnold from his sleep as he was on the balcony looking over the ocean when Helga joined him wrapping her arms around his waist. "Your up early football head" she said as he placed his hand on hers and just let out a soft sigh. "Yeah, I'm still on east coast time" He turned and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly, he felt so comfortable in her arms. His mind couldn't help but wander to a few years ago when he couldn't imagine something like this happening to him and now he couldn't imagine how his life would be without her. "This is great, I'm here with the one I love the most and my husband too" Helga said with a smile and made Arnold chuckle lightly and kisses her cheek "Love you too Helga." Her sense of humor was always something he loved, she had her own way of thinking that Arnold liked about her and never meet anyone else like her. They stood together for what felt like forever until they heard Philip cry out from the room and Helga started to pull away to tend to her son. "Well once we have breakfast we will go see Chuckie and Angelica down by the pool." Said Helga as she walked inside and Arnold just turned back to the ocean taking in the view before he had to go back inside and get ready. This was going to be a lot of fun for him and his family he thought to himself before he headed back inside.

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><p>So far so good, Arnold, Helga and their young son have made it to Ocean Shores, tune in next time for the next chapter in Latent Image.<p> 


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